Member Article

Businesses to benefit from R&D incentives

Business leaders from across the region are set to meet to discuss how changes to research and development tax relief changes can benefit them.

The meeting will attempt to clarify eligibility requirements, explaining how a wide range of sectors can take advantage of the changes.

Recent research indicates that businesses in the North East collectively have the lowest research and development spend in England, and the figure continues to fall year on year.

According to the Office of National Statistics, North East businesses spent £318m on R&D in 2008, a figure which fell to £297m in 2010.

Later this month the Budget and the Finance Bill are expected to include measures to stimulate further expenditure in this area, and Deloitte have organised today’s meeting to help businesses take full advantage of the changes.

Commenting, Stephen Hall, tax partner at Deloitte in Newcastle said: “The North East has many highly regarded manufacturing, pharmaceutical, engineering and digital firms which can, collectively, be the driving force to help grow the region in the coming years.

“In an environment where access to funding remains challenging, making the most of the R&D tax regime could provide a route for firms to boost their growth potential.”

The Bill is expected to introduce an ‘above the line’ R&D tax credit regime for larger companies. This will be delivered in the form of a tax deduction based on R&D spending, or as a repayable tax credit for loss-making SMEs.

David Clarke, a senior manager in the R&D tax services team at Deloitte in Newcastle added: “The seminar I will be leading will cover recent developments in the R&D regime where potential may exist to enhance claims, including the latest guidance from HMRC on the treatment of R&D associated with large scale production trials and prototypes.

“We’ll also provide an update on the current R&D tax consultation process, and how this may affect claims in the future.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .